Students help create anti-bullying phone app

We see it on a near daily basis — stories of bullying within schools across the country and even in Oakland County. A child is bullied in the United States every seven minutes.

The topic is huge, and many organizations have focused their attention on raising awareness, which might not be enough to stop the threat.

One Oakland County business and several high school students have joined forces to create a new cell phone app to help put an end to bullying.

The app was developed by Royal Oak ideation studio Brilliant Chemistry. Birmingham resident Carl Rundell, a partner at the company, wants to make an impact against bullying.

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Defeating the label

The app is backed by “Defeat the Label,” an anti-bullying nonprofit organization, which approached Brilliant Chemistry about trying to make that impact.

“They had a lot of great celebrity connections and that type of thing,” Rundell said. “They actually have 1.4 million high school students stand up last year against bullying. Some of the states have actually made it a day to go against bullying.”

On May 3, the organization is targeting 4 million students and targeting 3,500 high schools this year.

The subject matter is something Rundell, 44, and his student team are very passionate about, and it’s a topic very familiar to some of them.

“It’s very viral, it’s obviously a very hot topic,” Rundell said. “I was actually bullied when I was in sixth grade, so I know the kind of impact it can make on someone’s life ... it’s the psychological aspect, I mean, I would have much rather been punched in the face than (be psychologically bullied).”

What makes this app different from other anti-bullying projects is it will focus on changing the behavior, rather than just awareness of it, Rundell said.

Giving students the power

The app will not be released until May 3, but it will function in three ways: Reporting, engaging and analyzing.

Rundell describes it as “putting the power back into students’ hands,” rather than in the hands of a teacher, parent or administrator. It’s focused on helping elementary through high school students.

It will be used to report incidents of bullying anonymously, as well as report to those who stand up against bullying.

“You also have to start highlighting those who are making a difference as well,” Rundell said.

Behind the app is a sophisticated marketing database.

“Our target market is that student that is being bullied relentlessly,” Rundell said. “They can go in (the app) and say ‘it was on the bus, it was verbal, it was just like the last time’ ... that’s our target market.”

The app cost $200,000 to develop, and though it might look simple, the database is comparable to databases used by large corporations.

“You’ve got to connect it into the New York Mental Health Institute, so as these students are elevating in terms of their incidents they’re reporting, we can actually connect them to the appropriate level of communication,” Rundell said.

The engagement could include sending a message to the student being bullied, saying “it gets better,” to having a trained college student address the victim, or even having a mental health professional interact.

“It is a 1-800 hotline, but it’s the modern, student version of a 1-800 hotline,” Rundell said. “They can still push a button and call, but they’re more likely because the way they communicate is through (texting and social media).”

Then authorities will be able to analyze the data that is collected to show the status and effect of programs being used across the country.

The project has even caught the attention of the FBI, which is interested in statistics that come from student reports. The agency is involved with making sure no human rights are violated through use of the app, and to also prevent future crime.

“For the first time, there will be a central repository because this will be something that goes out nationally,” Rundell said. “So now we have a bullying report that can go out across the nation. It’s anonymous data until that student reaches out and says, ‘Yes, I want to be contacted,’ but yet we know location, demographics and that type of thing.”

The data will be quantitative rather than qualitative data — the numbers will show if the anti-bullying programs are working.

The app will be available for free in the iTunes store for both iPhone and Android. There will be a web-based version, which can be accessed from any device that has Internet.

Students take action

The student advisory board is made up of students from Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Lake Orion High School and West Bloomfield High School.

These students are the leaders, and students are the only people who can make a difference, Rundell said.

“Since it’s their app, we should really have the students be leading it,” Rundell said. “We set up a student advisory board ... Stephen Young is the chairman of the board ... he has a really good way of getting people behind a vision and he’s stood up for a lot of people who have been bullied.”

Young said he has experienced bullying firsthand, which is why he wanted to get involved with the cause.

“When I was in elementary school, I was on the pudgier side, I guess. I didn’t have many friends — I had one or two. I got ripped apart sometimes, so I really do think it’s a great cause,” Young said.

Young, a junior at Seaholm High, believes that most people do not want to put a label on bullying.

“A lot of times, I guess you do see it a lot, but a lot of people don’t really want to see it as bullying,” Young said. “They see it as messing around. A lot of kids, if you talk to them, they really do take it to heart.”

The students want to help make a difference. For example, the students are holding a large fundraiser for the cause in the near future.

“This is for the students, so the students will be the servers, they will be the organizers, they will be the ones getting up and talking,” Rundell said. “It’s almost like putting a face to it.”

The students are also the ones who are able to spread the word.

“For us, we’re just here to offer support,” Rundell said. “We’ve got (students) helping out on the fundraising side — it’s really working to their strengths. Some of the kids are really creative, so they’re the ones that are going to spearhead the actual videos they do for the fundraiser.”

For more information about Defeat the Label and to donate to the development of the app, visit www.defeatthelabel.com. To learn more about how to participate in Stand 4 Change Day on May 3, visit www.stand4change.org.

Contact Megan Semeraz at 248-745-4628 or email Megan.Semeraz@oakpress.com or follow her on Twitter @MeganSemeraz.